Baku / 01.03.18 / Turan: The European Union's Special Representative for the South Caucasus, Toivo Claar, gave an interview to the Armenian Mediamax agency after the visit to the region in late February and meetings with the leadership of Azerbaijan and Armenia.
Claar did not say anything fundamentally new regarding the Karabakh settlement, without hiding his pessimism.
The path to peace lies through negotiations and the establishment of minimum trust between the parties. "Unfortunately, the growing tension on the contact line in April 2016 had a negative impact and reduced the trust that was before. At the same time, recently we have been witnessing some positive developments, the situation in the area is calmer, and there is noticeable activity in the negotiation process. In Krakow, at the meeting of Foreign Ministers, an agreement was reached to expand the office of the personal representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office. It has long been necessary to take this step," he said.
"After the escalation in 2016, we witnessed the growth of populism and not only at the highest level. Among the population, the split also intensified. Unfortunately, we notice that people who wish to take actions to establish a dialogue or find common interests with the other party to resolve the problem are often sharply criticized. This is very disturbing. Peace building and people-to-people contacts are very important to support the official peace process," he said.
Concerning the role of the European Union in achieving the settlement, Claar reiterated the well-known position that the conflict should be resolved as soon as possible in accordance with the principles of international law. The main responsibility for finding compromises to resolve the issue rests with the parties to the conflict.
The European Union is ready to support the parties and assist in the reconstruction work, when the parties reach a final agreement.
"We support civil society programs aimed at building peace, and contacts between people for the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. We know from the experience of other conflicts that peace treaties should be strengthened by societies," Claar said.
He gave a positive answer to the question if the EU representative would like to visit Karabakh.
"I must emphasize that such a visit to Nagorno-Karabakh will not mean recognition or even a step in this direction.
Of course, I would like to visit Nagorno-Karabakh, hold meetings with interested parties, get acquainted with the situation, but at the same time, I know that there are some concerns about such visits. Every step should be taken in close cooperation with the sides and co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group to avoid any misunderstandings and misinterpretations, he added. -02D-
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